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University College London (UCL) or UC Berkeley

Hi everyone,

I am having quite a tough decision of choosing which college to attend. I gained admission to University College London (UCL) for a masters degree in Biochemical Engineering in 4 years.

I also gained admission into UC Berkeley for a regular 4 years bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.

Now, I am from the USA so the prices are almost the same for UC Berkeley and UCL. The UK education system has way more practical prices haha! I know UCL is considered an IVY League or higher in the UK so getting a masters degree from there is very tempting, but on the other hand UC Berkeley is also good and has a good reputation.

UCL ranks No. 9 globally on QSRankings while Berkeley ranks No. 10.

The thing is I'm getting a Masters in 4 years at UCL while I'm getting a normal Bachelors degree in 4 years at Berkeley so which one is worth it and better?

I also would like to know about the job prospects which degree would be better for jobs?

Thank you

Reply 1

aranon

Original post by guychess1223

Hi everyone,
I am having quite a tough decision of choosing which college to attend. I gained admission to University College London (UCL) for a masters degree in Biochemical Engineering in 4 years.
I also gained admission into UC Berkeley for a regular 4 years bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.
Now, I am from the USA so the prices are almost the same for UC Berkeley and UCL. The UK education system has way more practical prices haha! I know UCL is considered an IVY League or higher in the UK so getting a masters degree from there is very tempting, but on the other hand UC Berkeley is also good and has a good reputation.
UCL ranks No. 9 globally on QSRankings while Berkeley ranks No. 10.
The thing is I'm getting a Masters in 4 years at UCL while I'm getting a normal Bachelors degree in 4 years at Berkeley so which one is worth it and better?
I also would like to know about the job prospects which degree would be better for jobs?
Thank you

in terms of reputation and prestige, for chemical engineering berkeley is better, it is 3rd in the world, whereas UCL is 20th(QS World University Rankings for Engineering - Chemical 2024 | Top Universities), so for job prospects berkeley would be better

if prices are similar at both places for you, then this is not really something to consider. however, living in london is quite costly.

you may also want to consider whether you would want a campus experience or a city experience. if you prefer a city experience, definitely choose UCL, otherwise choose berkeley

in terms of getting the master's vs just the bachelor's, that's up to you to decide. choosing UCL would mean you can go much deeper into your subject, whereas at berkeley you would probably have more breadth

overall they're both excellent universities though so you'll be happy wherever you go